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It's a neat comparison and a good read! Welcome to the site Alex! The great thing about Machado, is that he will always be a valuable player, thanks to his defense. A 5.2 dWAR in 207 games is truly outstanding. My hope is that the Orioles eventually transition him to shortstop, where his expected offensive production won't be so high. If he played shortstop full-time, and hit like he did in the second half, he'd honestly still be a top shortstop in the league. Any further production with the bat is icing on the cake.

I think the biggest difference to me between Machado and Castro is that I have seen Machado grow in a few months at Bowie. When he first arrived there, he was chasing those same pitches outside the zone that Alex described. It only took him a few months to adjust and he looked terrific in May-Jun. I am confident that he can do it at the MLB level, although there is always the chance he won't (it happens sometimes unfortunately).

Also the power difference is substantial. Castro is going to hit for mild power but will never be a guy that truly provides impact potential. Machado still has about 10-15 lbs to grow into that frame IMO, and he already has a beautiful swing (maybe the best on the team?). I could see him cracking 25+ every year.

Hey Guys, thanks for the warm welcome thus far. Its been great seeing the commentary. Yeah, Manny in my mind will always be more valuable than Castro. Even if he only ever hits around his 2nd half numbers--which I doubt--he will always be more valuable than Castro because of his Power and Defense. The idea behind the comparison was Castro's full year and Manny's half year of making poor contact and the similarity in their numbers.

However, as Tucker mentioned Manny has a history of making adjustments in the minors and a half season of baseball in a career that is only 207 games is a small sample size. The talent is there, so lets all hope we see some improvement when he comes back next year.